The 1957 NBA draft was the 11th annual

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). The draft was held on April 17, 1957, before the 1957–58 season. In this

, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S.

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

players. Prior to the draft, the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and the

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

relocated to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and became the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

respectively. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The draft consisted of 14 rounds comprising 83 players selected.

Draft selections and draftee career notes

Rod Hundley Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundley (October 26, 1934 – March 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster. Hundley was the number 1 pick of the 1957 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals out of West Virginia Un ...

from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

was selected first overall by the

. However, the Royals immediately traded his draft rights to the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

. Eight pick of the draft, Sam Jones from

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

, have been inducted to the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Woody Sauldsberry Woodrow Sauldsberry Jr. (July 11, 1934 – September 3, 2007) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Sauldsberry was born in Winnsboro, Louisiana and graduated from Compton Union High School, where he was the star of his ...

, who was selected in the eighth round, went on to win the

Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

in his first season. He would be the highest selected rookie to ever win the award in league history, being selected as the 60th pick in the NBA that year.

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

was selected in the ninth round by the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

, but he opted for a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

career and eventually playing nine successful seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Brown was later inducted to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

and is considered one of the greatest professional football players ever.

Key

Draft

Other picks

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.

Trades

* On draft-day, the

acquired the draft rights to first pick

along with

Bob Burrow Robert Brantley Burrow (June 29, 1934 – January 3, 2019) was an American basketball player. The son of a lumberjack, Burrow was considered the nation's No. 1 junior college player in 1954 at Lon Morris, where he scored 2,191 points. Early ...

Ed Fleming Edward Rufus Fleming (July 25, 1933 – April 10, 2002) was an American professional basketball player.E ...

Don Meineke Don "Monk" Meineke (October 30, 1930 – September 3, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. Meineke averaged 20.6 points as a junior for the Dayton Flyers, carrying the team to an NIT runner-up finish in 1951. He averaged 21 ...

and Art Spoelstra from the

in exchange for

Clyde Lovellette Clyde Edward Lovellette ( ; September 7, 1929 – March 9, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the first basketball player in history to ...

and

Jim Paxson James Joseph Paxson (born July 9, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. A first round selection (12th overall) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1979 NBA draft, Paxson played for Portland and the Boston Celtics of the N ...

. * Prior to the draft, the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

acquired the

' first-round pick, which was used to select

Charlie Tyra Charles E. Tyra ( ; August 16, 1935 – December 29, 2006) was an American basketball player who is best known as the first Louisville Cardinal All-American. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Kni ...

, along with

Mel Hutchins Melvin Ray Hutchins (November 22, 1928 – December 19, 2018) was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1951 to 1958. Hutchins was selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks with the ...

from the Pistons in exchange for

Dick Atha Richard E. Atha (February 6, 2020) was an American basketball player and coach. Basketball career He played collegiately for the Indiana State Sycamores and scored 1,119 career points. He led the team in scoring during the 1951–52 and 1952–5 ...

Nathaniel Clifton Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton (born Clifton Nathaniel; October 13, 1922 – August 31, 1990) was an American professional basketball and baseball player. He is best known as one of the first African Americans to play in the National Basketball ...

and

Harry Gallatin Harry Junior "The Horse" Gallatin (April 26, 1927 – October 7, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Gallatin played nine seasons for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1948 to 1957 ...

References

;General * * * * ;Specific

External links

NBA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1957 Nba Draft

Draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

National Basketball Association draft National Basketball Association lists